Broken Mirror 2:Aftershocks
by Tribun
Summary: 2 to 4 in my saga. Of course it not goes unnoticed that Elisa had not returned from her shift and had literally disappeared. And while Demona has some practical problems with the spell that made her human by day, Elisa needs to tell her parents what had h
1. Detective lost

Episode #2-4

_-Well, this here is "the next day", or sort of. Of course it won't get unnoticed that Elisa had not returned from her shift, and when she isn't seen anywhere else, who will be called? Of course the next kin.  
**-For the sake of my story I have re-arranged the chonology of the episodes. "The Mirror", "City of Stone" and "High Noon" now take place after "The Price" in this order. Also the events of the latter two episodes will obviously change. This is VERY important!**  
-Also we see Demona coping with her newfound humanity. But enough talking, time to start the second installment...  
-I have no clue of the exact English quotes, so I simply translated the quotes from the German translated episodes._

_Previously on Gargoyles:_

_Goliath: "While you were human, I've never seen how beautiful you are."_

_Elisa: "You mean I was ugly?"_

_Goliath: "Of course not!"_

_----_

_Puck: "I can't return you to your human form." _

_Elisa: "What do you mean with 'I can't'!" _

_Puck: "I...I can't! Demona said 'Rid me of this human...forever'. I had to oblige, and make this permanent to follow her order. I want to undo it, but I can't!" _

_----_

_Demona: "I don't belive it, he has really done it... The sun is so wonderful warm!" _

_(she walks by the mirror, sees her human reflection)_

_Demona: "NO!"_

_-**The Mirror/"Rid me of this human...FOREVER!"  
**_

_  
Matt: "Why haven't you told me earlier about them?" _

Elisa: "I think... I just wanted them completely for myself..."

**-Revelations**

_  
Xanatos: "As much as I enjoy sparring with you Goliath, I'm here for a reason." _

**-Vows**

**_Broken Mirror_**

**Aftershocks, Part I**

Her shift had already ended for half a hour, but Captain Maria Chavez had insisted on working a little longer, because something had happened that had brought some unrest into the precinct. One of their detectives had not retured for her shift. No life sign since she had completed the report about the theft of that old mirror in the museum. She was not in her apartment and her car was still in the parking lot of the precinct.

As if Elisa Maza, detective second class, had dissolved into thin air.

In her profession this was bad news. In fact it was very bad news. Every time the men and woman of the NYPD were out for their duty to protect the citizens of New York from the criminal scum, they were in the danger of either recive injury in the line of duty, or, in the worst but thankfully most rare case, come back in a body bag. And to simply disappear, if only for half a shift, and not be seen again already was a big warning sign, that something was very wrong.

Captain Chavez hated what she had to do now. While it would need another night or two before a missing person report would be filled, Elisa's next kin needed to be notified of this by her. She not wanted to do it. Elisa's brother had simply disappeared some months ago, never to be seen again. This was already a haevy emotional burden for the family. And now she had to tell them that their eldest daughter had disappeared also.

Peter Maza was a old friend of hers. Actually he was her superior before he had went into retirement some years ago. She knew, he prefered to hear what had happened as fast as possible.

Dialing the number of the Maza residence on her desk telephone, she hoped that it would be him to recieve this call and not his wife. Diane was not good in recieving bad news, as Maria had experienced herself when telling her months ago that her son had gone missing.

_Please...please let it be Peter who answers. _She pleaded in thoughts.

"Maza residence, Peter Maza speaking." She finally heared at the other end of the line. Reliefed that it was him answering the phone, she prepared to tell him what had happened.

_...Destine manor, half a hour later..._

Demona felt drained. After the first shock she had gone on a literal rampage, destroying everything in the room after she had smashed the mirror. But she had finally felt the limits of her human body which had not nearly as much strength as her real one. Also her muscles were protesting and she had felt sore. So she had simply dropped in front of the destroyed mirror, surrounded by the mute witnesses of her rage, and had cried until her eyes were blood-shot. She cursed Puck for doing this to her, and she cursed herself for smashing the mirror and robbing herself of the only chance to re-capture Puck and force him to undo his spell.

Demona felt tired. It was a long night and since stone sleep was now denied to her, she had a feeling she would nod off any minute. Suddenly something occured to her. Where would she sleep?

She never had use for a bed before, but alone the thought of sleeping on the hard floor ignited flaming protest from her muscles. She also had no comfortable armchairs or a couch. So she needed to buy a bed and let it being delivered to her house if she wanted to get rest.

This only brought her to more problems when she thought about it. She was a sorceress, warrior, mastermind and strategist... but she she had no clue how to put that thing together, so a hired craftsman had to do it for her. Getting over the fact that she had to let a human into her house, if only for a service, was hard enough. But it already brought up a new problem.

Impossible to let someone in while only wearing her gargoyle clothes! So she needed some more adequate clothes too. She would need to order it via telephone... Then she remembered that she not even had a clue what her clothing size was.

"Why must these cursed humans make their lifes and everything else so complicated?" Demona groaned before she pushed herself up.

She had to find out how to measure herself, otherwise her clothes would look really funny on her. And she wanted to inspire fear, not laughter.

_...at the same time in a suburb of New York..._

Everything looked again normal, but Anastasia Renard not wanted to bet on it. Last night had been really weird. All humans had changed for nearly two hours into gargoyles, before they had changed back into their natural form. Fey magic was at work Puck's fey magic.

She had no idea if that again was just a prank of her problematic son, or if he was controlled by someone else. What she DID knew was, that someone had destroyed one of her possesions, her ancient mirror. Regardless who did it, the queen of the fey hated it when something that belonged to her was vandalized.

Traces of fey magic were still present in New York, but she would not search for the sources, since mortals were involved. Puck's blunder was bad enough, she not wanted to violate Oberon's law too.

She had time. Maybe the source would come to her in time. Also she had other worries. Fox's pregnancy was slowly starting to develop, and her daughter had one of the worst cases of morning sickness she had ever encountered. She wondered if the birth would be like the tortue Fox had put her through. The birth had lasted for over 20 hours before her daughter had decided to get out of her and even a many millenia old queen of the fey felt drained after that.

Helping her daughter though that time was her main concern at the moment.

_...in the Maza residence..._

Chavez' call had disturbed the just beginning day of Peter and Diane Maza greatly. They had just cleaned the kitchen from breakfast when the telephone ringed. Peter had answered it and while listening, his skin color had paled significantly. After thanking for telling him, he had at once told his wife what had happened. Elisa had gone missing.

It was is if she had been swallowed by earth itself, as if she was suddenly removed and only now everybody noticed. Long minutes they had said nothing, remembering too well what had happened to their son. Derek had vanished just like Elisa and later had reappeared, but changed forever.

"It is not like Elisa to simply disappear. Something must have happend to her... something bad." Diane finally said, her hands trembling. Since she knew that her son was transformed into a panther with wings, there was always the lingering fear that it could happen again.

"I just hope she wasn't abducted by this snake..." Actually Peter meant both, Xanatos and Sevarius. Both he despised deeply for what they had done to his son.

"Why our family?" she continued. "Couldn't these crazy scientists and billionares have picked some other family to bother?"

"I know she isn't missing for long, and I have a bad feeling about that too. But I think we should ask someone else first." Peter said while holding Diane's hand. He also had a hard time staying calm, but years in the NYPD had hardened him enough to go through nearly any sort of crisis with a clear head. "Our son said that Elisa has friends that are very close to her."

"But he said that they want to remain anonymus, and that he respects their wish! How to speak with them?" Diane had finally calmed down a little and her hands had stopped shaking.

"I won't. Our son will do the talking. He said where he lives, so I will try to find him and ask him to do us this favor. He can ask these ominous friends if they have seen Elisa or know where she is." Peter said before he walked to the coat hook to get his jacket.

"I just hope that they have a clue about her whereabouts... Wish me luck Diane." Peter grabbed his flashlight, then left, leaving Diane Maza alone with her fear for her eldest daughter's well-being.

_...a hour later, the sewers..._

"How can someone live here, is beyond me!" Peter told himself, while walking though the tunnels beneath Ney York. Them dampness was not that bad, but the smell was disgusting. It smelled like a cross between excrements, junk and foul water.

Walking through the dark tunnels with only his flashlight as lightsource, he finally arrived at a tunnel that was in much better shape and also smelled less extreme. "According to what he told me, down there should be the door..."

He already wanted to walk on again, when suddenly...

"WHO IS THERE?"

"AH!" Scared, Peter nearly dropped the flashlight. Turning around, his saw a winged, catlike creature with black fur standing there. "Derek! Never ever again scare your old man like this!"

"Dad? Uh...eh... sorry. I thought you were a looter looking for some easy cash." Talon had thought that this man with the flashlight was some underground scum. But that he had nearly scared his own father out of his shoes... he already felt sorry that he had not checked first who it was. "How it comes that you walk though this..." he indicated around "...stinking hole?"

"Well, you live in this 'stinking hole' as you call it. Actually son, I need your help..."

_...Destine Manor, around noon..._

Finally the craftsman had left. Demona had been unsure how much longer show could have endured his presence. Now standing in a previously empty room was a good-sized bed, complete with mattress, cushion and blanket. Ready for her to sleep on it.

Demona also looked at her reflection. Through a still experimental online connection she had found out how clothing measurements were handled and had, after several failed attempts of measuring herself, gotten the correct numbers. Ordering a set of everyday clothes over the telephone, she finally had the package half a hour later.

Putting them on was an adventure for itself. Why had humans so many different layers of clothing? She never had use for underwear before and socks on her feet were something she had to get used to. She at least had made a good choice by picking a shirt and a pair of jeans. They were loose enough to be comfortable for her.

And after a second order, this time for a bed, she finally had a place to sleep. And it was about time. She felt like sleeping while standing. Stripping until she was naked she then literally jumped into the bed, her tiredness catching up. It was only a matter of minutes before she was deep asleep.

_... on way to the clocktower, near sunset..._

Talon knew that it was a bit risky to fly towards the clock tower with dusk not complete, but he wanted to make sure that he would not miss the clan by minutes. What his father had told him was very serious.

Elisa's disappearance had brought up painful memories of his own... 'disappearing'. How he was cut off from everything he knew, from his friends and family, being forced into a life in the shadows.

Without Maggie who always was there for him when he had depressions over what he had become, helped him to find the will to go on with his life, he had no idea where he would be now. In return he gave her support when she mourned over her past life and what she had lost.

Gliding through the jungle of skyscrapers was not as hard as he had thought it would be when he had first tried it. His previous job as a pilot obviously had helped him to master gliding fast. And now he tried not to be seen while homing in on the old clock tower that was part of the 23rd precinct. That he had never noticed these statues up there while working there...

_Obiviously the best hideout is, where no one would even bother to look. _He thought while landing on the balcony of the clock tower. He noticed that there were seven statues, not six. _Strange... Ok, there are Brooklyn, Lexington and Broadway. Over there are Hudson and Bronx. And there together with Goliath... Oh shit!_

Goliath was holding hands with a gargoyle that had a frightening resemblance with Elisa. Talon doubted that it was a piece of art because he never heared of art wearing jeans and a t-shirt. And she looked scared, really scared. Obviously alone the idea of turning into solid stone was frightening for her.

"Mom will faint when I tell her this..." Talon whispered to himself while staring on the stoned gargoyle that was his sister. The sun was just vanishing behind the hoizont and now Talon waited to see if his assumption was true. Taking a step back, he watched the clan waking up.

Elisa felt trapped, it was dark. She felt she needed to free herself of this prison. She pushed outward with strength while screaming loudly, bursting the thin stone skin off herself. Elisa roared loud while her eyes glowed red. Hearing herself, her eyes went wide in surprise, while loosing the glow.

"Oh God...that was me?" She nearly fell of the railing in surprise if not for Goliath holding her hand. "I... I had no idea that I could rival a lion's roar!"

"Better not do this in front of the family! Mom would faint while dad would get a stroke."

"Derek?" Elisa noticed her brother standing behind her.

"The captain had called our parents that you had not returned from your shift, that you have vanished. And dad wanted me to ask the 'mysterious friends' if they know something." He came to the point at once, not wasting time. "How did this happen?"

"It is the doing of one of our enemies, Demona!" Goliath had helped Elisa off her perch and now walked up beside her. "She wanted to use a magic being to kill Elisa, but instead she ended up in this form."

"It is a really long story..." Elisa was unsure what her brother might think of her now, but so far he had not reacted negative. Most likely because he had nearly the same problem.

"I have time."

"I think I better prepare our evening meal while you explain this weird night to Talon. Yesterday was really the most weird night in my entire life." Broadway said before walking through the door.

"Broadway is right, I for example can't explain things that well with an empty stomach. Especially since we had eaten next to nothing yesterday. Let's go!" Brooklyn announced before walking in as well, followed by Lex, Hudson and Bronx.

His own growling stomach reminded Goliath, that hunger was one of his priorities too. "Come Talon. It will take some time to give you all details." Taking one of Elisa's hands he led them both inside.

_...at the same time in Destine Manor..._

"Interesting, so Puck's spell only works at day. At night I'm still my true self." Demona said while inspecting herself. As soon as the sun had set, the pain had begun again and when it was over, she again was a gargoyle. So Puck's spell was only preventing her from stone sleep.

Putting on her gargoyle clothes she walked to the table in her workshop. This project of hers was the most time consuming at the moment, but in case of success the humans of the city would be helpless against her! Since the day she had torn this page out of the Grimorum she had wanted to use it. But only now she had decyphered the spell completely.

If she could trick Xanatos in her being able to use broadcast equipment, New York would be in for a nasty surprise. But that would take some days before she would approach him with the request.

In the meantime she would bring a person to life who up to now was only existing on paper. Dominique Destine, rich woman from France and owner of this mansion, would start to exist for real now. The longer she thought about it, the advantages of her current situation became clear to her. With her human disguise, she would be now able to use their own infrastructure against them.

She now finally had the ability to use her money far better. A business as a strwman for her real goals would be the next step.

_...the clock tower, a hour later..._

"...and so he disappeared with Demona into that mirror, and -poof-, the mirror was gone as well. And there we are now." The clan had taken turns in explaining to Talon what had happened and Lex was the one to finish the weird tale. "We yet have to decide what to do about the situation."

"Well I need to explain mom and dad somehow that their eldest daughter has become somethething they thought of as a myth. They don't know about you guys, but obviously that had to change. I think it will be best to... Eh, Elisa, what are you doing there?" Talon stopped when he saw Elisa searching for something.

"Ah there it is!" Elisa said while picking up her red jacket and gun holster. "I had wondered where my jacket, gun and shoes had gone after my transformation. They were in a dark corner of the tower. The shoes I can forget. This on the other hand..."

Elisa checked her gun then put on her gun holster before she wraped her wings around her chest with some efford. She was glad she had no elbow spurs when she put on her red jacket. _Sorry. You have gone through much together with me, but to wear you I have to do this! _Pushing her wings up they tore through the back of the jacket.

"If felt strangely naked without my jacket in case you wonder why I wear it. So Derek, what were you about to suggest?" Elisa said while walking back to the others.

Talon wondered why Elisa was so attached to her jacket, but that was not important now, so he went on. "Well, you should accompany me to our parents' apartment with one of the guys. I think it will be better that they see themselves what had happened to you and that you are not alone."

"I will come with you if Elisa agrees to your suggestion. My presence is calming for her." Goliath voltuneered.

Elisa gave her silent approval, so Talon continued. "I think it is best that I speak with them first while you wait outside. To prepare them for the shock. You know how easy mom gets scared as soon as her children are in trouble."

_...twenty minutes later, Maza residence..._

Diane and Peter Maza had waited the whole day for any news from their son, but he had not contacted them yet. It was late and they already wanted to call it a day, when there was a -thump- outside the balcony door. Talon entered through the glass door.

"Have you...?" Diane started to talk, but a gestue from Talon stopped her.

He waited some seconds, before he talked. "I have wanted to ask Elisa's friends about her whereabouts but that was unnccassary because she was with them when I arrived."

"Then she is all right." Diane said, visibly reliefed.

"Mom, Dad... not exactly. Something...had happened to her." Talon had no clue how to tell his parents that Elisa had grown wings, a tail and turns to stone during the day.

"No..." Peter said while both of them paled in fear. "Please don't tell us that she has also grown fur and was changed like you!"

That would be harder than he had thought. It seemed so easy when Elisa had done it for him. "No...no fur. And also not like me. It is... different, no mutation but something else."

"Something else?" his mother had now no idea was he was talking about.

"I... Have you ever thought that magic could be real? No this rabbit out of a hat stuff, but stuff like these wizards in fantasy movies can do?" Talon tried a different approach.

"Well... my father told me in my childhood stories about a mystical being, capable of magic. I never believed them. And your mother always reads these stories about that big spider capable of magic. But this is only from the imagination of some people." Peter said, then noticed his son's expression change when hearing about magical beings. "Son?"

"Better start to belive in them, they are quite real. One of them did something to Elisa... changed her for the rest of her life, because some psycho wanted to do her harm." Talon pointed to the balcony door. "She is waiting outside with one of her friends. Please, she is still the daughter you have raised and love. Don't judge her just by her appearance!"

His parents still not belived him about the magical beings, but they followed him out. There were two people in the shadows. One of them was far too big and too masculine to be Elisa. Obviously one of her friends. Then the other shadow had to be Elisa. Her siluette not really looked different apart from the fact that she seemed to have grown a bit.

"Elisa...?" Diane asked careful.

"Mom, Dad...please don't get scared when I step into the light." Hear voice was quiet, almost a whisper.

Then she slowly emerged into the light. Diane and Peter Maza first saw a pair of tan, three-toed, clawed, wolf like feet, and a very prominent tail. She was standing in a way with her legs angled, that would have been uncomfortable for humans. Elisa's hands had changed also, had only three fingers now. Caped over her shoulders was a pair of bat-like wings, not unlike the ones her brother had. Her head was the last thing to appear from the shadows. She had now very prominent, pointed ears, slight brow ridges instead of eyebrows and her eye color seemed to have darkened. But she still looked far more human than her brother.

"I must really disappoint you, looking like this..." she said nearly as quiet as a whisper.

Elisa now had her eyes downcast, not wanting to see possible rejection from them. Her brother had dissappeared for months before the truth was broken to them. But her transformation was only yesterday. What if...

"Elisa. Please look at us." That was her father. She not dared to raise her head too fast. Peter and Diane were only half a meter away from her."Never, never ever again think that we would reject you!"

"Our only disappointment is, that you have thought that. After what had happened to your brother, you should have known us better. It...it is quite a shock to see what had happened to you so shortly after Derek." Diane said while taking one of Elisa's hands. "But we would be heartless to now turn away from you. You will always be the daughter we love, even if you are changed into...into..."

"...a gargoyle." Goliath finished, still standing in the shadows.

Elisa's parents only now again noticed that Elisa's friend was still there and in the shadows. And that this was the first time he had said something. His voice was deep and masculine, yet not threatening in the slightest.

They watched when he stepped out of the shadows. He was big, really big, had lavender colored skin and more muscles than a human could even dream of ever achiving. All in all he was the organic equivalent of a battle tank. He was nearly naked, only wearing a loincloth.

"My name is Goliath. Our race is called gargoyles and Elisa was changed into one of us. She had told us much about you, but I wish I would have met you under better circumstances." he said.

Peter and Diane Maza first stared at the giant leader of Clan Manhattan, then at each other, before turning towards their changed children. "Inside! All of you! Elisa, Derek, you two seem to have withold more from us than you want to admit. You two and your friend Goliath won't leave until there are no secrets left!" Peter Maza made it clear with the authority in his voice, that there was no discussion.

"Then better prepare for a long night dad." Elisa said. "Because there is quite a number of secrets to be told..."

_**to be continued...**_


	2. Talking about a arkwand situation

Episode #2-4

_**Broken Mirror**_

**Aftershocks, Part II**

"There isn't much left of the night. I wonder what takes so long. They should have returned by now." Brooklyn paced forth and back in front of the inside of the clock face. The sky had already a faint red taint at the horizon and in fifteen minutes it would be dawn. But their leader and Elisa still hadn't returned.

"If you keep up with this, you will walk a hole into the floor." Broadway said annoyed from the side while trying to read a book. His reading skill had improved, but he still had some way to go before he could read without problem. "They just have much to talk about, that's most likely all."

Walking down the stairs, Brooklyn shook his head. "No wonder you were not chosen as second. You take some things simply not serious enough."

"Better than making myself worry over everyone and everything! Look at yourself! Goliath is well capable of taking care of himself and Elisa. Don't worry over things that you shouldn't need to worry about."

Lex looked up from his laptop now. All the noise had broken his concentration while he was writing a program he hoped would solve Coldstone's problem. "I can't work under such conditions you two, so be quiet!" he shouted, before returning his attention to the keyboard.

"Ah, rats!" Brooklyn said before storming up the stairs, walking through the door onto the balcony of the clock tower.

He would have never thought that being trained as the next leader would result in him worrying about so many things. It was uncomfortable for him and he wished that he would still have the same lightheartness in cetain matters as his two brothers. But obviously that was not longer the case.

_Was it the same when Goliath was trained by Hudson? Maybe I should ask Hudson. But certainly not now, we are all already stressed enough with the Elisa situation. So better wait some nights. _Brooklyn thought a little more about it, before he finally gave up for now and leaned on the railing to watch the city.

Their protectorate was so different to medival Scotland that he still was amazed by it, dispite the fact that they lived in the city for more than a year now. In that time he had more excitement than in his entire life before. But all this excitement was no compensation for one thing.

He was a male and had just entered the age to take interest in girls. Elisa's transforation had reminded him of that, and the fact that there were no gargoyle females available. The whole fiasco with Maggie a prime example of this need to have female companionship. Nature told him to seek a future mate, but there wasn't anyone available. Elisa was like a friend for him, and she had no romantic interest in him, only in their leader.

Only a blind gargoyle would not have seen that she was attracted to him, even if she herself was not yet aware of it. Brooklyn wanted to bet his beak that sooner or later Elisa and Goliath would be a offical couple.

He on the other side had no way to ever get a mate with gargoyles nearly a extict species. There were exactly two females in New York, one of them their enemy and the other already with someone else.

"Life can be a bitch sometimes... Face it Brooklyn, you will be alone forever." he sighed, his wings dropping over his shoulders in mute defeat.

Unknown to him Hudson had watched him. Originally he had wanted to give him some support, help him with a little coping with the uncerainness. He knew that from his and Goliath's time as second, that at the beginning there was always the fear to make something wrong, the need to get everything right and that everyone was in no danger.

But when he heared Brooklyn talking to himself, he thought it best not to invade his private space now. Sexually frustrated males were not good to talk to, so he left him alone and returned to the television.

_...in the Maza residence..._

It WAS a long night as Elisa had warned them. But Peter and Diane not felt the need for sleep because what they had heared in these hours... They would not have belived it, if not for the fact that their eldest daughter had grown wings and a tail and was accompanied by a huge gargoyle named Goliath.

They were told everything. How the clan had been betrayed 1000 years ago, resulting in a bloody massacre, the curse that made the survivors sleep until last year, how Xanatos had awakened them only to use them for his own goals. How Elisa had befriended them and Demona became her enemy, how they were finally driven out of the castle and all the battles and problems they had since they had started to protect the city.

Only after they were told all that, the topic came on what had happened last night. That all humans of the city were transformed... Most likely they were under the spell too, and now not remembered it anymore.

"That was really... If someone else would have told us that, we would have thought of him as weird and called the funny farm. That's much to take in. Magic, fey and beings that turn to stone during the day." Peter admitted. What he had heared was much more weird than what his father had told him in his childhood. But unlike his father, Elisa and Goliath were unrefutable evidence, that it was the truth.

"Trust me, I also needed time to get used to it. It is as if your world is turned upside-down... Uh...eh..." Elisa got up from he seat. "Please excuse me for a minute. Looks like I had drunk one juice too much." then she left in direction of the bathroom.

As soon as Diane heared the door shut, her demanor became direct when she looked to Goliath. "Good, and now that she is not here, what are you intentions concerning our daughter?"

"Mom! Her life was turned upside-down yesterday, and you think that? Please, Goliath is a gentleman who would never exploit her emotional distress!" Talon was quite shocked that his mother had brought up this topic.

"Diane...?" Peter looked surprised at his wife.

"I, I... have no idea what you mean. Elisa is a friend of the clan. I don't have any... 'intentions', as you call it, concerning her. We have to help her get used to what she is now, that is all for now." Golith really had no clue at what Elisa's mother was playing at.

"Oh, please..." Diane rolled with her eyes while she said this. "The way you looked at each other. You are both attracted to each other." Goliath looked shocked at her. "You had no idea...?" Only now it dawned to Diane, that Elisa and Golith might have not known that.

Goliath seemed to think, tried to remember something. Finally he spoke "I think of her as my friend, but now that you told me... Yes, there is some attraction towards her. When she was human, I had never really realised how beautiful she is. But this is a hard time for her, so I will control myself, and wait what her feelings towards me are."

"By the way, why is she acting so normal, as if nothing had happened?" Diane looked into the direction of the corridor in which Elisa had vanished.

"That made me wonder also. I was practically smashed by what had happened to me and needed weeks to go on. I think Elisa tries to makes it only more difficult for herself by acting like this." Talon said.

Goliath shook his head. "I don't really know, but I think the whole impact of this hadn't hit her yet. Also she wants to be strong and pushes away the pain. I can only hope that she isn't doing a error by denying her mental pain."

Peter just wanted to say something, when they heared the toilet flushing and Elisa returned into the living room. "Goliath... I just remembered something important! Who will now stock up the clan's fridge? I mean, I came up for the food bill and brought it for you guys. But that is impossible now!"

"I wish we could help, but my pension isn't likely to be enough to feed seven more people." Peter sighed. That was dispite the fact that as a retired police captain, his pension already was higher than usual.

"That is a serious problem..." Goliath hadn't thought about that. Only now he was aware how much they had relied on Elisa.

"That we could buy it for you wouldn't be that a big problem. The question is, from where will we get the money?" Diane asked.

"For now we could use what still is on my account... but that won't last forever. Maybe you can sell most of the stuff I now haven't a use for anymore, like my car. Hell, most of the things in my apartment are now next to useless for me." Elisa realized, that there were still many things form her human life she needed to take care of.

Peter looked sceptical. "It will surely look suspicious if we do that too soon after your 'disappearance'. But I think we can somehow manage something. Just by the way, what about the items you still have a use for?"

"As long as it is not too bulky, the clan can carry it over to the clock tower. I...oh God! I totally forgot Cagney, he is still in there, probebly already starving!" Elisa now remembered her cat, who hadn't recieved any water or food for nearly 36 hours now. "I need to get him."

"Elisa! The sun is about to rise! You would never reach the place in time!" Goliath held her arm, preventing her from running to the balcony doors. "And also you can't really glide yet. You still have to rely on me guiding you through the currents of the sky."

Elisa tried get get out of Goliath's grip for some more seconds, before she stopped, reason winning. Instead she looked over to her parents. "I know you want to get some really needed sleep, but please get him out of the apartment! I..." Elisa was unable to continue, when the sun peaked over the horizont, turning her together with Goliath to stone.

"Well, that is also a way to end discussion." Diane commented fascinated while looking at the stone statues. "They are really solid stone... unbeliveable!" That her eldest daughter not only was not longer human, but also really turned to stone during the day, that was much to take in.

"I will get her cat Di. And after that this will be the first day since my retirement, that I sleep during the day." Peter said to his wife. "Tonight I won't forget soon." He looked over to Talon. "And you son, should go back home. You look tired."

"Yeah... I don't even think I can use my wings. yawn I will use the entrance to the sewerage that is behind the house. Hope you can sleep well. Byebye!" Talon then quickly climbed down the pipe of the rainwater gutter to the street level before quickly vanishing below the street.

All of them needed sleep now. Peter only hoped that he would beat the rush hour, or the way to Elisas's apartment and back would be time consuming. And he only wanted to get in bed fast.

_...a hour later, atop the Eerie building..._

While the city of New York was in it's usual chaos of rush hour traffic, none of the noise and emission-thick air reached the castle atop of the Eerie building. It was a unusually warm, sunny day in March, and David Xanatos and his wife had their breakfast in the countyard of the castle.

Setting his coffee mug on the table, Xanatos resumed his reading of the Financial Times, mostly to not see what his wife put on her already third slice of bread. Lately she had developed some strange tastes in her food combinations as a side effect of her pregnancy, causing him sometimes to loose his appetite when seeing some of the more unusual combinations.

"Mister Xanatos." Owen went to his employer.

"Yes, Owen?"

"I have recieved some interesting news from our informant in the 23rd police precinct. Detective Maza had not returned from her night shift esterday. Since then she is missing." his secretary told him is his usual, emotionless voice.

"That's interesting. I wonder how Goliath will react to these news, because he seems to be quite fond of the Detective." Xanatos mused, while putting the newspaper on the table. "Tell our man to continue looking into that, maybe we can find something to have leverage against the clan."

"As you wish Mr. Xanatos." Owen then left.

"You know David, maybe you should give Big Purple a little visit tonight, just to tease him a bit." Fox had finished eating and now just put milk into her coffee. "It's a while since the last time you 'spared' with him."

"Hmm. Sounds like a good idea..." Xantos had always enjoyed brawling with Goliath in his battle armor just for fun. Maybe he would do it this tonight.

_...at the same time..._

"Please excuse Ms.Destine, since this is the first time you grace our store, the empoyee hadn't recognised you. I will order to fire her at once." the manger of the most expensive store for office clothing again apologized to Dominique Destine.

The manager had all reson to apologize. It was no wonder that the employee had wanted to throw Demona out fifteen minutes earlier. A woman in cheap everyday clothes and uncared hair was usually trouble in a high-quality shop like this. Also the employee had not wanted to belive her, that she was Dominque Destine. In the end the shop manager was called, and Demona showed him her platinum credit card. Now she knew why it had been wise to open a account months ago, it opened gates that otherwise remained closed.

Also it was fun to see a human apologize to her and treat her like a queen. Never before she had been treated this way by a human. She could get used to it. And to actually command humans around would be even better.

But for now after getting a adequade wardrobe, her next step would be to find out how to get her hair under control. And after that, she would use her wealth to start her business. She had far more money collecter throughout the centuries than she could ever use normally.

So to invest a part of it to further her plans would be the best thing to do.

_...hours later, shortly before sunset..._

"They told us about it, but I want to see that mayself before I belive it." Diane watched the two stone statues while outside the sun was about to set. Absently she held Elisa's cat in her arms.

Then the sun set, and small cracks appeared on the statues. Roaring both gargoyles trew the small layer of stone off. Scared by the noise, Cagney jumped down to hide under a chair.

Diane and Peter lokked a little intimidated, while Elisa and Goliath brushed of some stone chips. "And you have to do this every night? Does it hurt?"

"No Dad, it doesn't hurt. In fact, it almost feels like a... aehm, never mind." Elisa blushed a bit when realizing what she had nearly said. "Cagney!"

Cagney had no idea what to think of the strange being that lifted him up, so he tried to get a impression of her smell. She smelled familiar, like the nice two-legged who also fed him. Deciding to like this one, Cagney again prepared to rest a little. After a longer time without food or water, he needed that after catching up with his needs today.

"Please excuse that I seem blut, but Elisa and I must return to the clock tower for now, since my second will be worried by now." Goliath said.

"Brooklyn. I totally forgot that he had command while we are gone. He must be very uncomfortable by now." Elisa realized.

"We are already too long gone. Concerning our food situation, we still have food stocked for some days, so it isn't that pressing yet, so we can still think about how to organize this tomorrow night." Goliath said while opening the balcony doors.

"We take no offense. You have resposibilities. Just make sure that nothing happens to Elisa." Peter answered. He knew, as leader sometimes someone had to cut things short.

"I can't promise it, but I will do my best."

Holding Cagney, Elisa followed Goliath on the balcony. "We will be back tomorrow. Good night Mom, Dad." She then held with one arm on Goliath when he jumped off.

"Strange. Dispite the fact that our daughter turns into a stone statue during the day, I not have the same problems accepting it, like I did with Derek..." Diane said to herself while watching the two silluetes against the light of New York.

"Maybe it is, because we know she has someone like Goliath to rely on, and that she has friends who are there for her. Come Di.." Peter told his wife while he closed the balcony doors.

While Goliath and Elisa glided through Ney York to return to the clock tower however, they not noticed, that someone had spotted them, and watched them with interest.

_**to be continued...**_


	3. Three more know it now

Episode #2-4

_**Broken Mirror**_

**Aftershocks, Part III**

"Well, that is interesting." Xanatos had sighted Goliath really fast, seeing him on the way back to south Manhattan. But it wasn't the huge leader of clan Wyvern, who catched his interest. It was the female gargoyle beside him.

Dispite the fact that he was unable to get any details, he definitly knew that it was a female because her recognized the body shape when comparing it to Demona's. Also Goliath was, as far as he knew, not gay, meaning that he would never hold hand this way with a male. But this female was not Demona, because her skin color was brown, and her hair black.

_Looks like Goliath has managed to get himself a girlfriend. And they are even the same species. I wonder what the good detective thinks about this, since she seems to be really protective of him. Well, that will be even better than I have planned. Goliath is too easy to tease._

"Let's see if I can get him angry and get a good view of his new item." Activating the engine, Xanatos took course directly towards Goliath.

Goliath had enjoyed the glide back to the clock tower so far. Now that he was aware that Elisa was attacted to him in a way, her tightly holing his arm made much more sense. It was more than her just being scared of falling. She wanted to be near him, but obviously had no clue about her own feelings towards him. And he would not press the matter, it should evolve on itself.

Suddenly he noticed a noise becoming louder. He very well knew what this noise was, and cursed that Xanatos had picked up a very bad moment to bother him. "Elisa. Either Xanatos himself or one of his robots is chasing us. I can't get rid of him while in the air with you holding on me. We must land."

"Damn Xanatos! Why does he have to bother us? Can't he just stay home and scew his wife like all of these married, rich yuppies do at night?" Elisa hissed, her eyes taking a slight red color. "I don't want him to see me, get down on a roof with some cover!"

Goliath knew why. Elisa not wanted that Xanatos knew of her transformation yet. The less he knew, the better. Descending on a roof, Elisa jumped away from Goliath, behind a water tank. Just in time because Xanatos already descended on the roof, looking towards the giant gargoyle.

"Well Goliath, I would have never thought that you would get yourself a girlfriend, especially from your own species. Is she shy or why doesn't she want to show herself?" Xanatos tauted him, hoping that Goliath would do something stupid or that his girlfriend would snap and come out of hiding.

He grinned when he heared the female growl from her hiding place, but she not showed herself and Goliath also seemed to try to stay calm. "Just leave us alsone Xanatos. We are in no mood for your games tonight."

Xanatos was disappointed. "Oh, I'm hurt Goliath! No time for your ol' buddy Xanatos? And I thought of you as reliable."

When Goliath not answered, Xanatos added: "Is she really so ugly that she wants no one to see her?"

That did it when suddenly he was thrown down from the side by someone he hadn't seen before. To question a woman's beauty was always the best way to make them angry. "About time! No woman regardless if human or gargoyle, likes to have her beauty being taken into doubt." He then looked at her to see what she looked like. And he was surprised.

The female looked like a gargoyle version of Elisa Maza. Everything from her face over her coloring down to the clothing style. Xanatos remembered the strange dream he had two nights ago. He dreamed of gliding with Fox through the skies on gargoyle wings.

_Either this happened by a strange chance, or there is somehow more to the dream than I thought. Maybe it's no wonder that the detective had vanished from the face of Earth, if that is her standing before me, growling and eyes illuminated blood red. _Xanatos thought, while getting up.

"One more word Xanatos..." the female threatened. Even the voice matched perfectly the Detective's. Xanatos had no doubt now, that this was indeed Maza standing there before him.

"Oh, God fobid! I wouldn't dare, Detective. Nice new look you got there..."

"Watch your mouth Xanatos, I had not chosen to be like this! So move your sorry ass away and leave us alone!" Elisa threatened. She had no idea that she could get this agressive. Maybe gargoyle females had more hormones that made them easier angry?

Xanatos simply activated the engine. "If you wish it this way... I already got what I wanted, this information can be very useful in the future! Good night!" Then he left them with high speed.

Elisa's eyes lost their glow. She herself was quite shaken that she had let herself become angry so fast. "I think I need more self control... It was as if something in me screamed to simply attack. Is this part of what you are?" She asked while picking up her cat.

"We always have to control ourself, because our ancient nature is very easy to anger and thus leading to agression. What happens if someone has no such control... Demona is a good example. But considering that you still held back a great deal, your self-control must be quite good already." Goliath gently explained to her while he led her to the end of the roof.

"You mean that only growling when angered is a sign of holding back? God, I not want to see one of you guys really over the edge." Elisa added in thoughts, that she also not wanted to see herself getting over the edge as well, because she feared she would do unspeakable things.

_...on the way to the Eerie building..._

Xanatos tried to puzzle together the information. Maza was definetly a gargoyle now, but how, that was still the question. Since Sevarius had never managed to make a mutation fromula to mutate a human into a gargoyle, it had to be magic which did this to her.

_Which magic could be stong enough to do this? To permanently change someone into something different?_

When he landed in the countyard, his wife already waited for him there. "That was fast! Was Goliath not in the mood for a little brawl? Or is he still looking for the Detective?"

"Nothing of this." Xanatos said while taking off the helmet. "I left on my own, and the Detective was with him, but she had a new look. The wings-and-tail-look, to be precise."

"You are joking, right?" Fox asked. But when her husband said nothing, she saw that he was serious. "Had she said how this had happened?"

"No, but I guess it was magic. But come now. It is late, and both of us will have a long day tomorrow."

Both of them left the countyard, not saw that Owen had watched them. His forced permanent spell already had made quite a impact on Maza's life. But for now he had other worries. Fox's pregancy to be precise.

The 1000 years were almost over. In this year to be precise. He just hoped that Oberon would not get any ideas concerning the child. Also, his queen was around now a lot, and he had to hide his presence even more. He not wanted to imagine her reaction if she found out that the secretary of her daughter's husband was in reality Puck the trickster.

No, Queen Titania would not be amused. Better she would never hear of it.

_...in the 23rd pecinct..._

Matt Bluestone was worried. He had just returned from a week of vacation, only to be told that his parnter had vanished from the face of Earth without a trace. Nobody knew what had happened to her.

Walking to the ladder to the upper stories of the station house, the stair leading to them was removed already years ago, he wanted to ask the clan if they had any information they wanted to share about this. Finally he reached the ladder and climbed up into the dark rooms of the old library.

These rooms still looked like they did when the old library was converted into a police precict years ago. The stair was removed, and the rooms not touched since then. Thick layers of dust covered the rows of bookshelfs, the room oly lit by the pale moonlight through the big windows. Walking up the stairs to the clock tower, he entered the home of the clan.

"Hey guys, have you heared..." He stopped in mid-sentence, when he saw who was with the clan. A brown-skinned, black-haired female gargoyle clothed in jeans, t-shirt and red jacket, that had a striking resemblance to Elisa. "Elisa?"

"Oh, Matt, I..." Elisa had no idea what to say. She had forgotten that he would have been back from vacation today, so she had not thought how to tell him what had happened to her.

To her relief, Brooklyn jumped in to answer. "Yes, it is her. Something had happened to her two nights ago, involving magic, and it can't be undone.Meaning that she will be like this for the rest of her life. I think I not need to mention, that this causes serious problems for her."

Matt still stared at his transformed partner, trying to imagine away the wings and tail so that he could connect this gargoyle with his memory of the human Elisa. "Magic...? You mean real magic?"

"Brooklyn, I think we should explain it to him right from the beginning, or we will only confuse him." Lex commented from the side. "Hell, even for ourselves that night was really confusing."

_...twenty minutes later..._

"Just where the hell is Bluestone? I want him in my office, and he can't be found dispite the fact that he had clocked in!" Captain Chavez was not in a good mood. She had wanted to tell Matt what had happened and that he would do solo duty from now on. But no one in the squad room knew where he was.

Walking through the corridors of the building, she searched for him, asked anyone if he or she had seen him. Finally she got somewhere. "Walked down there." One female officer said and pointed to a corridor to her right.

_There are only two things there. A storage room and the broom closet. Why would Bluestone go this direction? _Walking down the corridor Chavez saw that the door to the broom closet was open and the ladder pulled down. _What the heck could he want up there?_

Climbing up into the abbonded library rooms, she had no problem seeing a literally track where no dust was on the floor, too clean for only one person passing there. Following the trail, she arrived at the stone stair leading to the clock mechanism. She heared voices from up there.

"...and that's the situation in which we are now. She is stuck like that and we still have to decide what to do now..." It was a male voice she had no idea who it was.

"...oh man, I really pity you Elisa. I would down in dispair if this would happen to me..." That was Bluestone, mentioning Elisa!

"...thank God that I have friends that hold to me. Still we have to work out the details..." And that wa Elisa!

_She was UP THERE? There whole time! Did she want to make us look like fools? _Without hesitation she ran up the stairs. Maza was in for it now, for playing such a prank and letting other people into this restricted area.

"Damn Maza! What were you thinking by hiding up here and making as all worry about..." she stopped cold when she saw who was there. Beside Matt there were six beings with wings that looked like these statues on a church. Only that there were flesh and not stone. Beside them was something that remotely resembled a dog, but looked like some kind of beast.

Chavez then saw it. One of the beings looked like Elisa with wings and a tail. She looked in shock at one of her detectives who now looked like a creature from one of these fantasy comics.

"Eh, captain... I...I can explain! As...as.. you can see, I had... very good reasons." the changed Elisa stuttered. But Maria Chavez not heared it, because she already had fainted.

_...meanwhile in Destine Manor..._

Demona looked through the papers on her desk with annoyance. Even opening a strawman business required a mountain of paperwork being done. She had never thought that it would need so much time. Nonethless it had to be done.

Tomorrow she would offically register it in the responsible office in the city hall. Her informants had let her know that already this had leaked through and the press would literally wait to have a statement from her and catch the first picture of the up to now very withdrawn living millionaress.

_Picture hungry Human vermin... _She ranted in thoughts while signing another form. She would not do them the favor of answering their stupid questions. The limosine was already rented for tomorrow, so that she could arrive at the city hall with style.

Looking on the next form, she had the think of a name for business. Out of a mood, she decided, and wrote "_Nightstone Unlimited_" on the form. She could still change it if she desired to do so.

Putting the pen aside, she decided to stretch her wings a bit before filling out the rest of the forms.

_Well, in a week I will have much fun, so I shouldn't complain. _She thought when she looked to the page of the Grimorum she had torn out months ago. Xanatos would be in for a real surprise then. A ugly surprise.

_...in the clock tower..._

Maria Chavez felt like her head would bust every moment. After she was woken up she still had to face these strange beings...no they were called gargoyles. Matt had assured her that they were totally harmless to her and that they also protected the city from the scum.

And then Maza had started together with the other gargoyles to explain her everything in the fast version, because she would be missed if away for too long. Wikings, magic, fey, cranzy billionares, robots, a psychopatic gargess. She felt flattened by so much information. It was so much to take in.

Good thing they had offered her a black coffee, because she needed one now. She still had no idea what to think of them, but their demanor had made it clear that they not meant harm to her. "So, do I get this right Maza? This psycho wanted you dead, but because of bad wording, you ended up like this, and it can't be undone?"

"That's how it looks like captain. I'm stuck like this for the rest of my life." Elisa said whle carressing Cagney.

Chavez drew in a deep breath. She would need time to really understand all what she was told in less than half a hour. Things she thought of as fantasy only a hour ago were now reality, and her head hurt. "I hope you understand that I need time to get used to that."

"People are always first scared by us. Only these who really know us don't fear us anymore. So it is only natural that you need time. We understand that." said Lexington.

"We are harmless to the ones who are not hostile towards us. What you can't say about the scum of this city." Broadway added while remembering something. "Goliath, shouldn't we start our sweeps of the city now?"

"You are right, it is time. I want that you go together as a group. That way Brooklyn can learn something about how to lead a group of warriors." Goliath then turned his attention to Hudson. "My old friend, I will be quite occupied with teaching Elisa how to use her wings. Can I put it into your experienced hands to teach Brooklyn what he needs to know about leading a bigger patrol group?"

"N' problem lad. Ye can be assured that I will give him everything he will need to know." Hudson replied then looked to Bronx. "Sorry ol' pal, but I can't take ye out tonight."

"I think... I should better get back downstairs. I hope you can tell me this all in more detail when I have more time..." then Chavez left them, while the patrol group exited the clock tower also, leaving Goliath, Matt and Elisa alone with Bronx.

"I think she is still in shock... To see me like this. That's really much to take in." Elisa was not sure if Chavez would get over it fast. More likely it would take a while.

"Well, it is not something that happens every day. But since she is a friend of your family, I don't think she will suddenly start to see you as some kind of animal." Matt commented while checking his wristwatch. "I must go downstairs too. See you at the end of my shift!" Then Matt left them too.

"Looks like we are on our own... and now you can help me finally get used to these wings. I still not really have a clue how to use them properly." Elisa decided.

_...the next night, near midnight..._

The interitor of the clock tower looked different now. Elisa had told the clan which things they should get out of her apartment and bring over. Every thing that they could carry and was useful or had some sort of sentimental value for her. While they did that, Elisa had finally found a sultion to the food situation together with her parents. While they would buy it for them, the money would come from what was in her account and selling stuff she would not need anymore.

It was a good thing that everything concerning her 'disappearance' landed on her captain's desk. That way it was much easier to deal with these remains of her old life that needed to be made into money. That included the money she had put into a retirement plan she now not needed any longer.

Now the clan was in the clock tower, taking a meal break before they would start patrols and Elisa again her gliding lessons. Last night's lesson had scratched her pride with her falling like a rock for at least seven times. But she not let herself disencouraged by it. She had managed to glide on her own for some times and she would manage to do it again.

Also she was reliefed to hear that there was a restroom in the old library part of the building that still was in working condition, which the clan used. To actually ask if there was some kind of restroom was actually a question that had cost Elisa some nerves. She not wanted to imagine doing her business in some dark corner.

"Lads! Lass! Ye should see that!" Hudson suddenly called while he saw the midnight news. Going to the television, they stopped when they saw the report.

"...Dominique Destine, muli-millionaress from France had visited the city hall of New York to register her new business in New York, the 'Nightstone Unlimited'. Destine, who up to now had been living very withdrawn, had denied every interview."

The television showed a red-haired woman in a red business suit leaving the city hall, walking to a limosine, literally besieged by the press. "No comment!" she said before entering the car.

"Also we not yet have recieved comments from the other two big players of economy in New York. Neither David Xanatos nor Halcyon Renard had told their opinion on Nightstone yet..."

All of them had recognised her dispite her human apperance. Her voice was also the same. "Demona..." Brooklyn hissed while the others were silent. It seemed that Puck had done more than they thought.

_**The End**_

_**Next Installment:**__**  
"City of Stone"**_


End file.
